In a year when headlines featured a major ice cream brand
recall, an expanding western U.S. drought impacting crops, and
efforts to phase out artificial flavors and ingredients, Americans
felt the top food news story of the year was the expansion of fast
food breakfast menu items to more times of day along with breakfast
menu innovation.

Hunter Public Relations, one of the nation's leading food and
beverage public relations agencies, has commissioned a study to
determine the nation's top food news stories of the year since
2003. For the past three years, the study has been conducted in
partnership with Libran Research & Consulting, which surveyed
more than 1,000 Americans between Oct. 28 to Nov. 2, 2015 and asked
respondents to select their top three food stories from the 12
months ending October 2015. This year, the No. 1 story was
the evolving fast food breakfast landscape, illustrated by
headlines touting McDonald's new all-day breakfast menu as well as
breakfast innovation at Taco Bell.

In the food news survey's 13-year history, only three other fast
food stories have ever made it into the top 10. Yet, in an unusual
twist, three of this year's top 10 stories revolved around the fast
food industry: Domino'snew emoji ordering option
ranked as No. 7 and the availability of alcohol at fast
food locations, such as some Starbucks and Taco Bell locations,
came in at No. 9.

"The fast food industry is tapping into the 'want it now'
mentality of today's consumer by offering greater availability of
favorite offerings," said Grace Leong, CEO and partner of Hunter
Public Relations. "Consumers who crave breakfast food in the
afternoon no longer feel they should have to wait until tomorrow
morning to satisfy it. They also want the ability to purchase other
favorite non-traditional fast food items -- such as alcohol -- at
places they already frequent regularly."

2015 is the first time since 2004 (when the passing of Julia
Child was the top story) that the year's No. 1 food news story was
not "issue related" (such as childhood obesity or food safety).
That said, food issues were still heavily featured on this year's
top 10 results. The recall of Blue Bell ice cream due to
listeria issues ranked No. 2 on the survey. The company
recalled all of its ice cream products in April after listeria
monocytogenes were found in more than one product and in more than
one plant. This year's No. 3 story was the expanding
impact on the food industry of the drought in the western United
States, which had ranked as last year's top story. Phasing
out of artificial flavors and ingredients was considered this
year's No. 5 story, with GMO Labeling ranking No.
6, and food waste as a new eco concern landing at No.
8.

Rounding out the top 10 stories are the Whole Foods
Overcharging Scandal(No. 4) and Anheuser-Busch
Acquiring SABMiller (No. 10).

This year's food news study confirms that America's appetite for
food news is on the rise. In fact, 45 percent of Americans state
that food news stories are more important than other news
stories -- up from 32 percent two years ago. Overwhelmingly,
respondents feel that food safety (63 percent) and nutrition (47
percent) are the two most important food topics.

Food Waste Elicits Concern and Changes in Behavior

"Food Waste: the New Eco Concern" (the No. 8 top story overall)
elicited more concern and behavior changes in 2015 than other
habits and actions reported, with 41 percent of those trying to
make changes claiming they are trying to waste less food. While
consumers continue to report 'better for you' behaviors like
"eating less processed food" and "paying more attention to
ingredient lists" in significant numbers, "trying to waste less
food" was the most significant in the hierarchy of reported
consumer behavior changes overall.

Consumption of Food Information Grows in Digital and Social
Media Channels

In addition to the top food news of the year and its impact on
consumer behavior, the Hunter PR Food News Study expanded three
years ago to delve more deeply into where and how consumers are
accessing information about food and cooking. Once again this year,
websites beat out magazines and television as the top source for
recipes and nutrition information, while surprisingly, television
and newspapers continue to be top sources for general food news
overall, even among Millennials who stated Facebook as their No. 1
source for general food news.

Social media is on the rise as a source for recipes at 38
percent vs. 34 percent in 2014 for the overall population and is
the No. 2 source for Millennials at 40 percent. Facebook saw an
increase from the previous year in consumers who reported visiting
the channel to obtain the latest recipes (from 26% to 31%), whereas
TV cooking shows, women's magazines and coupon inserts were all on
the decline.

The most trusted source for truthful, unbiased information on
food? Nearly 90 percent agree that it's health and medical
websites, reinforcing the importance of the role of science in a
world where nearly half of all consumers (47 percent) agree that
there is too much conflicting information about food and
nutrition.

Mobile on the Rise

The Hunter PR Food News Study found that there is significantly
more mobile usage taking place in 2015 as compared to the prior two
years. Notably, "using a mobile device to search for recipes" has
nearly doubled since 2013 to 36 percent, and "watching video on a
mobile device to get cooking directions" has more than doubled to
22 percent. Interestingly, growth in the use of mobile devices for
a myriad of activities is being fueled this year by Baby Boomers,
who are now approaching the level of use of Millennials and Gen
Xers, with half now accessing the web through a mobile phone or
tablet.

Millennials: The Food-Loving Generation

Whether it's sharing photos of their meals on Instagram or
creating new food-focused social rituals, Millennials have a strong
positive connection to their food. Thus, it's not surprising that
-- unlike other generations whose top food-focused New Year's
Resolutions are avoiding negative aspects of food (such as weight
gain or eating processed foods) -- Millennials state their top
food-related resolution for 2016 is to "eat and cook more at home."
Additionally, they view food news stories as even more important
than their age counterparts -- whereas 45 percent of Americans
think food stories are the most important news stories, the number
jumps to 54 percent for Millennials. They are also the demographic
most likely to change their behavior based on GMO labeling.

Hispanic Consumers Ahead of the Digital Curve

For the first time this year, the Hunter PR Food News Study
broke out information regarding the Hispanic demographic. The
results demonstrated the importance of food news to this consumer
as well as their broad-based adoption of social and mobile media as
it relates to food, cooking and interaction with brands. For
example, the study found that Hispanics are more likely to say they
are "using apps offered by brands I like" (33% vs. 20%) or to
"watch a video on a mobile device for cooking directions" (33% vs.
20%) than the total population. Like Millennials, Hispanics are
also more likely to resolve to "eat and cook more at home" in 2016,
with 36 percent reporting this as a resolution (vs. 25 percent of
non-Hispanics) and cite Facebook as their No. 1 source for recipes
at 32 percent, just ahead of recipe websites at 30 percent.

ABOUT HUNTER PUBLIC RELATIONS
Founded in 1989, Hunter Public Relations is an award-winning
consumer products public relations firm with primary offices in New
York and London and a footprint across North America. Beginning
with
research-driven consumer insights, Hunter PR executes strategic
public relations programs that build equity, increase engagement
and drive measurable business results for branded consumer products
and services. The 110-person team employs a powerful blend of
traditional publicity,
social and digital media outreach, strategic partnerships and
influencer marketing to reach the hearts, minds and spirits of
target consumers. The agency is a member of MDC Partners Inc.
(NASDAQ: MDCA), one of the fastest-growing and most influential
marketing and communications networks in the world that leverages
technology, data analytics, insights and strategic consulting
solutions to drive measurable results and optimize return on
marketing investment for over 1,500 clients worldwide.

ABOUT THE STUDY
The 13th annual Food News Study commissioned by Hunter Public
Relations examined the top food news stories of 2015 in terms of
general awareness and concern. The study also explored how food
news stories influence consumer behavior and the top media sources
for food information -- broken out by recipes, general food news
and nutrition.

Hunter PR partnered with Libran Research & Consulting
for this study. Libran Research addresses business issues with
critical decision-making and impartial judgment -- helping to drive
action in their clients' marketing strategies and tactics. Libran
Research surveyed 1,001 Americans ages 18 years and older via an
email invitation and online survey. The respondent sample was
balanced to the U.S. population on key demographics. Results of any
sample are subject to sampling variation. For the interviews
conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that
a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1
percentage points.

The survey was implemented Oct. 28 to Nov. 2, 2015, covering the
12-month period from November 2014 through October 2015.

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